This application makes reference to, incorporates the same herein, and claims all benefits accruing under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119 from an application for AIR CONDITIONER earlier filed in the Korean Industrial Property Office on Nov. 11, 2000 and there duly assigned Ser. No. 67001/2000 by that Office.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to air conditioners, and more particularly to an air conditioner that is capable of increasing its cooling capacity with its improved evaporator and control box.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a general window air conditioner, an indoor air inlet and an indoor air outlet are formed on the indoor side of the air conditioner to suck and exhaust indoor air, while an outdoor air inlet and an outdoor air outlet are formed on the outdoor side of the air conditioner to suck and exhaust outdoor air. An evaporator and an evaporator fan are mounted in the indoor portion of the air conditioner to cool and circulate indoor air, while a condenser and a condenser fan are mounted in the outdoor portion of the air conditioner to dissipate heat and circulate outdoor air. A motor is mounted in the space between the indoor and outdoor portions of the air conditioner to operate the evaporator and condenser fans, and a compressor is mounted in the same space to compress gaseous coolant to high-temperature and high-pressure coolant. A control box containing various electric and electronic parts for controlling the above-mentioned elements is mounted in the indoor portion of the air conditioner.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional window air conditioner. An indoor air inlet 2a and an indoor air outlet 4 are formed on one side of the front of an air conditioner body 1. An evaporator 3 is situated behind the indoor air inlet 2a. A control box 5 including a function selection switch, a temperature adjustment switch and a capacitor 6 for a motor and a compressor is mounted beside the evaporator 3. The control box 5 is constructed to enclose various electrical and electronic parts so as to protect the parts from moisture. Generally, the control box 5 vertically extends long to accommodate an elongated capacitor.
In the conventional air conditioner, one side of the front of the conditioner body 1 is occupied by the control box 5, so there is only a small space for an evaporator, thereby restricting the evaporator to a relatively small size. Moreover, the evaporator is restricted to a relatively small size owing to the spatial restriction, so there is a limit to the increase of the cooling capacity of the air conditioner.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner, which is capable of providing sufficient room for a relatively large evaporator while keeping its overall size constant, thereby increasing its cooling capacity.
In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides an air conditioner, comprising: an indoor air inlet formed on an air conditioner body; an evaporator disposed in the air conditioner body behind the indoor air inlet; and a control box including various electric and electronic parts, the control box being situated in the indoor portion of the air conditioner body; wherein the control box is positioned over the evaporator and the evaporator is extended relatively wide.
The width of the evaporator may be substantially analogous to the width of the air conditioner body.
The width of the indoor air inlet may be substantially analogous to the width of the evaporator.
A capacitor of the electric and electronic parts may be provided with terminals, the portion of the capacitor including the terminals is preferably situated in the control box, and the remaining portion of the capacitor is downwardly projected from the control box through an opening.
The control box may further comprise a support plate downwardly extended from the edge of the opening of the control box, and the capacitor is secured to the support plate by a band clamp.
As depicted in FIGS. 2 and 3, in an air conditioner of the present invention, an upper case 11, a base plate 12, a front panel 13 and a rear panel (not shown) constitute the exterior of an air conditioner body 10. In such a case, the front panel 13 of the conditioner body 10 is situated inside of a building, whereas the rear panel of the conditioner body 10 is situated outside of the building.
In addition, the present invention provides an air conditioner, comprising an indoor air inlet formed on an air conditioner body and an evaporator disposed in the air conditioner body behind the indoor air inlet, wherein the width of the evaporator is substantially analogous to the width of the air conditioner body.